Nobody Knows Your Heart
by Sailor Latias
Summary: Let it be known Aurora wants Mulan to open her heart. After all, she did save hers. (Yes, I used lyrics. Credit goes to the creators.)


Please read the Author's Note at the bottom before commenting. Thanks~!  
**Edit**: Okay, I apologize severely for the ending. Both Tumblr AND FIREFOX were shitheads to me and I can't bash them enough because I literally JUST finished the thing and copied it to put up elsewhere, before I could save it, Firefox just fucking... UGH so even though I copied it nothing got copied nor did she get saved.

I think Aurora is OOC and I can't fix the damn thing because I don't know what went wrong in the first place because I COULD NOT SAVE IT THANK YOU TUMBLR AND FIREFOX. Just fuck. The ending is just a mess, I lost an entire paragraph of dialogue (so do **not** ask me to regurgitate what I don't remember) and I'm too damn tired to clean this up any more because I have literally spent a fucking week on this and I'm sick of looking at it.

* * *

Aurora awoke in her bed with a start and immediately turned to check if Phillip was all right. He was, deep in slumber beside her more or less, his short brown locks as disheveled as they could get from a night at the tavern with his friends. His breath reeked of too many glasses and it looked like he had quite literally just dropped into bed, for his lower half was dangling off the edge.

She wanted to believe he was the initial cause of her rude awakening, if only to get the matter off her mind and get back to sleep, but he was dozing too soundly to shoulder the blame. Normally she would sigh at his carelessness and take off his boots for him, tuck him in and kiss him goodnight, but that was more his mother's job and she was his soon-to-be wife – if anything he should be taking care of her.

Aurora scoffed at such outdated principles; in fact, she mentally berated herself for thinking like that. Instead, she gently rolled her eyes and opted to pay Mulan a visit. Knowing the warrior, she was still awake. Sleep never came easy to her either, even without a curse upon her head. It was probably a habit left over from her time in the army. From the looks of things, Phillip wasn't going to help her get back to sleep for the next few days. Maybe she and Mulan could keep each other company.

Just like they used to when danger lurked in every corner.

On her way to Mulan's room she passed a servant wandering about the halls. Without much effort, Aurora convinced them to take care of her unconscious knight in shining armor for the night should she not return to her chambers before daybreak.

_In the moonlight I felt your heart, quiver like a bow string's pulse_  
_In the moon's pale light, you looked at me_  
_Nobody knows your heart_

Getting to Mulan's village was easy, they made it after a day and a morning of travel, but finding her proved a bit more challenging. Neither Phillip or Aurora spoke any Chinese, and the ground was too hard for Phillip to even write with his boots – his Yaoguai claws would certainly be of use. The village people eyed the couple with curiosity, probably wondering what business such rich people would have in their backwoods town or if they were just passing through. Some approached the horse as it passed them, but no one reached to touch it or offered assistance.

Aurora searched the crowd of people for her warrior, looking at every face to see if anyone vaguely resembled Mulan, and in an obvious way, everyone did, but not as she hoped. She was just as confused as she was frustrated.

"Whoa." Aurora let out a small gasp when Phillip stopped the horse and proceeded to dismount it, chivalrously offering his hand to help her down. She gave him a grateful smile but got down the horse's other side and approached the nearest person she could before Phillip could open his mouth.

"Excuse me," she said, slow and perhaps a bit too quiet for the woman's old ears, "Is Mulan here?"

The old lady, petite and dressed in a thin and worn dress, her wispy white hair pulled into a small ponytail, grunted a response and put a hand to her ear to invite the princess to speak louder.

Aurora bit back a sigh. "Fa, Mulan," she responded, keeping the sweetness in her voice audible, "Mu-lan."

"Mu-lan…" the woman echoed, repeating the name several times to herself under her breath, until finally, "Oh! Muk-laan!" Aurora beamed when the woman began to look towards the other villagers and practically shriek the name (and other words the princess couldn't recognize) over and over, presumably asking the same question Aurora did. She felt Phillip put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, his way of silently telling her 'good job', and leaned into him as they both watched the old woman talk to the group of villagers who had begun to gather around the couple, young and old alike.

Before the old woman could leave her side, Aurora swallowed her pride and touched her arm, "Xie xie!" she said to her rather loudly. It was the most unladylike she's been all day, but that didn't matter when the grandma gave her the biggest toothless smile she had ever seen and nodded her head several times, repeating words the princess could only imagine was her way of saying 'you're welcome' while patting her hands before turning to the crowd.

Aurora breathed a sigh of relief. That was most all the Chinese she knew and to be given a positive reaction was all she needed.

The little old lady was still going on like she was making a big speech, every once in a while gesturing to Aurora and Phillip, and repeating – in Aurora's mind – the unique way Mulan's name was pronounced in their language now and again. Originally she had not given it much thought as to what Mulan's name would've sounded like to a non-English speaker, as the other woman's English was excellent, but now she was fascinated.

She began to wonder what the lady was telling the people; they were entranced by her theatrics – her pitch rising and falling with every word she spoke, her bony hands and arms every once in a while flinging in the air and almost hitting Aurora in the face, her feet stomping now and again following a dramatic pause – the lot of them soaked it all up, especially the little children, whose clothes were in a little better condition than those of the woman speaking (worn, yes, but in a good way), who fidgeting with their sleeves while staring at the royal duo with wide puppy-dog eyes full of wonder.

Phillip exchanged glances with her. Where was Mulan as this was going on? Was she notified of their arrival?

A man in the crowd began to yell at the old woman (in what Aurora assumed was anger; it all sounded the same, to her misfortune) and jabbed a finger at her in what seemed to be accusation. Phillip jumped in and put a protective arm in front of the grandma, just in case, while Aurora gently placed her hands on her little shoulders in case she needed that too. Their actions were only to be met with a hearty laugh from the grandma herself; she patted Aurora's hands again, waved Phillip's arm away and said a few more words to the crowd with Mulan's name repeated once more. That was the thirty-fifth time she said 'Muk-lan', at least by Aurora's count.

The same man from before opened his mouth to respond to what was said, a fist getting ready to be shaken in the air, but was cut off by a gentle laugh a little beyond the crowd. Aurora gasped again, covering a smile behind her hands when she saw the one person she had come to visit.

Mulan sauntered over, speaking in her mother tongue to seemingly everyone aside from Aurora and Phillip, and brought with her a surge of relief in more ways than one. She wasn't wearing her armor anymore, but an actual dress, as simple as it was, and looked wonderful as ever. She addressed the old lady with a gentle smile but an accusatory tone, which made Aurora wonder if she already knew she was telling stories about her. The children rushed to Mulan's side as she neared, many of them pointing to Aurora and her prince, possibly bombarding the swordswoman with questions the adults wanted to know the answers to as well.

In the center of the crowd Mulan stood with a hand to the air that silenced everyone, and acknowledged her old friends for the first time since their arrival in – to the princess's relief – English.

"How are you?" she asked in her usual composed manner, "I did not expect a visit from you both any time soon."

Phillip bowed to her. "Well, surprise. We've missed you, Mulan, and wanted to see if you were doing well since your return from your adventures with Robin Hood."

Mulan nodded and focused her attention on Aurora, a smile tugging at her lips. "Is that true, Princess?"

Aurora bit her lip and nodded, but couldn't restrain herself from going in for a hug. The children moved out of her way as she almost tackled their warrior to the cold hard ground. "Yes," she breathed into Mulan's hair, "Absolute truth," She pulled away and settled for holding onto the other woman's hands to just keep contact, "I hope we aren't intruding. We can leave at once if it troubles you–"

"That… isn't necessary," Mulan cuts her off, tightening her hold on Aurora's hands, "Stay for a little, please. It would be nice." They share a smile between them, and Aurora successfully fights the urge to touch their foreheads together to sweeten the moment.

A little girl tugs at Mulan's dress to get her attention and says something that makes Mulan's eyes widen and she _giggles_ before saying something else in return, equally as sweet-sounding and… playful? Aurora loosens her grip, causing the warrior to tighten hers once more, and patiently waits out the cheerful chitchat. Mulan locks eyes with her and says something in Chinese – gong ju?

"Gong… zhu," Mulan repeats, a bit slower, and here Aurora understands she is supposed to say it back. She stutters on the first word, but tries to match Mulan's tone, and earns a smile for her efforts. "You are a princess, a gongzhu, and Phillip is wangzi, your prince. This little one just asked me if you were the Goddess of Mercy."

"Wait!" the princess smiles, "That reminds me, we brought gifts with us from our kingdom!"

Mulan tilts her head in confusion, "You did?"

Aurora nods and leans in close to her ear, "I personally made sure yours didn't get mixed in with anyone else's. Please, allow me to give it to you, Mulan. Please."

Mulan swallows and after a moment's hesitation, says, "Of course you may, Aurora. Thank you for your kind generosity."

_When the sun has gone I see you, beautiful and haunting but cold_  
_Like the blade of a knife so sharp, so sweet_  
_Nobody knows your heart_

Mulan had willingly come back to the castle with them after Aurora had stayed a few days with her in her home. Phillip had left the same day they had come – it would be unwise to leave their kingdom unattended for long and even though he missed Mulan, Aurora looks to have missed her more. The bond between two women was stronger than any he could forge with either. He wasn't needed, and it would certainly be a burden on Mulan's family. Besides, she had already agreed to stay for a while after returning the princess, so he could see her then.

Aurora clapped her hands in a steady rhythm as a group of children joined hands and danced in a circle around her singing a song while Mulan lectured the old lady from earlier. The princess learned the old woman was Mulan's grandmother, and a very spirited soul she was. Maybe that's who Mulan got her personality from, albeit toning it down quite a bit. She looked back at the duo and smiled at the sight of an exasperated Mulan practically whining to her smug ol' granny, probably trying in vain to scold her from just blabbing her business to any and everyone within hearing distance. It seemed a very Mulan thing to do, Aurora thought, as Mulan facepalmed and tried yet again to get her point across.

Why, yes, a very Mulan thing to do.

A cold hand tapped her elbow, causing her to jump and focus her attention back to the children. "Yes?" she asked, looking from child to child wondering who had touched her. Her job as their maypole was apparently done.

One of the older kids, who couldn't have been more than ten or eleven, tilted his head and smiled shyly at her. "Ha-llo." he said.

She returned his smile and nodded politely. "Hello there, young man."

The children giggled and the boy pointed to himself with a finger. "Woh jao Ming," and pointed to one of the little girls, "Ta jao Hong. Gongzhu," he bowed to Aurora slightly but did not seem interested looking to see if she returned the favor, "Ni neh?"

"W-woh… jao…" Aurora repeated slowly, ignoring some of the snickers she got possibly for being off–tone, "A-Aurora. Wo jiao Aurora."

Ming led the other children in applauding her. "Hao!" he nodded, and the other kids stopped clapping. He cleared his throat and began anew. "Wo de mingzi shi. Ming. Wo–" – again he pointed to himself – "Wo de mingzi – mingzi – shi! Ming! Gongzhu," he bowed again, "Ni de mingzi shi shema?"

Aurora sighed softly. She was getting good at this game, and she knew it. It was sweet of them to teach her Chinese when she couldn't gather the courage to ask anyone herself, especially Mulan. Secretly she was afraid if Mulan's easiest teaching method would be too advanced for her, or she would take too long in learning the simplest of things. Try as she might, languages was never her forte. A small test here might ease her worries. If the children reacted well to her mistakes, maybe Mulan would too.

"Wo de mingzi…" she bit her lip. "Aurora."

"Shi!" the children cried in unison, some smiling up at her, "Mingzi shi!"

Ming waved his hand to them absently, his eyes focused solely on Aurora. She could see the fire in them – he wanted her to get it right, wanted her to succeed. "Bu duei, gongzhu," he said, shaking his head, "Ni de mingzi shi…?"

Aurora smiled at him, at all the children, and confidently said, "Wo de mingzi shi Aurora. Wo jiao Aurora. Ni hao ma?" This time, all the children around her, even Ming, jumped for joy at her progress. Aurora clapped a few times herself and allowed another girl who just joined them, who looked older than Ming, to lead her to a small patch of soil. This girl should be in her early teens, and introduced herself in a different Chinese than what Ming has just taught her, pronouncing her 'Wo' as 'Ngoh'. Her name, to Aurora's understanding, was Ah Mei. Unlike Ming, she did not bow or address Aurora as 'gongzhu' which made the auburn–haired princess relax. Glancing back at the other children, it seemed they had all disappeared. Now it was one-on-one lessons.

Ah Mei picked up a nearby stick and proceeded to draw tiny lines in the dirt. The first was just a horizontal line and the next was another line with a shorter one a bit above it. She went all the way to what the princess understood to be the addition sign, albeit with a slightly longer vertical line and began a new row until the very last thing she wrote down was the two horizontal lines next to the plus sign. Judging by how she carefully spaced them, Aurora deduced numbers were to be her next lesson. Ah Mei sang a little rhyme and cleared her throat. It seemed to be an unspoken rule among the youth that doing so was how the princess knew they were to begin.

She pointed to the first line with the stick and said, "Yut," and held up one finger for Aurora to see. She then repeated the process and gestured to Aurora to answer back to her. When she did, all she got a very Mulan-esque nod of approval, which got a smirk out of the princess. Perhaps this girl was Mulan's little sister, if she had one.

"Yee. Sahm. Sey. Mmhn. Lok. Chut. Baat. Gow. Suhp." The numbers were all one syllable each and took less than a second to say; Aurora was amazed they had gotten to the end of the first row in the blink of an eye. She looked to Ah Mei to start the second, but the younger girl shook her head and cleared her throat again, paying Aurora no mind. She repeated the rhyme she said in the beginning before the lesson began, this time pointing to the numbers as the words left her lips. The second time, Ah Mei slowed down considerably, and halfway through looked up to see if the princess was paying attention. She frowned in realizing Aurora was looking at her rather than her work and grunted her disapproval. Aurora hid a smile as the girl scowled at her and poked her with the unused end of the stick as a warning.

"Sheme?" Ah Mei asked her, pointing towards the first character. They went through the entire first ten numbers again, and when that was done, the child coughed into her hand before the signature throat clear. She pointed to the first three, and then Aurora's test really began.

"Yut, yee, sahm, sahm, yee, yut. Yut, yee, sahm, sey, mmhn, look–" ("Lok!") "–l-lok. Chut. Yee, sahm, sey, sey, sahm, yee. Sey, mmhn… lok, chut, baat, gow, suhp."

"Good!" Aurora's head shot up. Ah Mei was smiling, clapping, and added proudly, "You learned the rhyme! That is how children learn to count in Cantonese."

Crossing her arms in disbelief, Aurora sighed at her teacher. "You speak English." Ah Mei gave her a cheeky smile.

"Mulan-jehjeh taught me since I was small. And when she went away to war, her mother teached. So I know a little more than the other kids. They were teaching you Mandarin but I just taught you to count in Cantonese because I knew you could say the song."

Fighting the urge to pout at her, Aurora settled for playfully rolling her eyes. "And how did you know that?"

"Jeh-jeh speaks of you often. Many days when we see her, she tells us stories about the beautiful Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip. About how she and the prince went to rescue you from a curse. Actually, that's what her Po-po was doing earlier – she was telling us who you were in Jeh-jeh's stories. Jeh-jeh says you have a fiery spirit, you never stopped fighting even when she was certain you were just being stubborn to her. If you wanted something, you were going to have it, like when you found that little boy in the fire room even though it frightened you."

"I had to," Aurora murmured, smiling fondly at the memory, "I had a duty to fulfill, of course I had to help. Being scared isn't an excuse."

The teen nodded and quickly added, "I think Mulan-jehjeh loves you, Princess Aurora."

The young woman giggled at the thought. "I love Mulan too. She's a dear, dear person to me and I will never be able to repay her for all she has done."

Ah Mei shook her head vehemently, "No, I think she loves you more than that. Do you call it True Love where you come from?"

True Love.

_True Love_.

True Love, what– what did this _child_ know about True Love? This little girl! What did _anyone_ in this tiny village know about True Love? If Mulan had feelings for her, if what Ah Mei said was indeed true, then the noble warrior Fa Mulan would, by all means...

Aurora froze.

If Mulan felt anything even remotely romantic for her, she would without a doubt keep it to herself. Just as she did everything emotion-related.

Because of Phillip.

If Mulan loved her, she wouldn't tell her.

She is sacrificing her own happiness in favor of Aurora and Phillip's because... as she herself once said, _Love is sacrifice_.

Something Aurora clearly needs to re-evaluate.

"Ah Mei," Aurora pleads, "Please, tell me more. What does Mulan say? Did she ever imply she loves me… i-in that way, I mean?"

"Hmm..." Ah Mei tilts her head in thought for a moment, and scratches underneath her chin. "When we ask her about the princess, she always has a story ready, like she's waiting for someone to ask about you. She automatically smiles – and they're not her fake smiles like before she went to war – they're quite real and happy. And then she gets scolded by her parents because she spends time talking about you when she's supposed to be doing her chores…"

Aurora listened with unwavering interest as Ah Mei went on about Mulan. Everything seemed to have more than two meanings. She even learned about the warrior prewar, about how unhappy she was with her role in their society; both princess and swordswoman could have led similar lives, being trophy wives more than anyone of real importance. Mulan refused to accept that was all her life had to offer and was determined to make use of her youth and prove herself worthy of just existing; she wasn't just some clay doll they could slap a role to and play with in their gardens – Mulan was a survivor of a society who didn't appreciate her nor cared to see her at her fullest potential. And just like that, even if just in the the area of her own village, she changed the way women were viewed by charging headfirst into the battlefield and returning home in one piece even wiser than before. Ah Mei was obviously very proud. And even then, Mulan wasn't done – none of it was just for her. Yes, she proved herself as capable as any man, but it was all done out of love for her father. Family came first for her, and the ends justified the means, especially if the stakes was a life for a life.

Just as their time together had been.

Tears pricked in the princess's eyes by the time Ah Mei was done summing up her sister's tale but she covered it by pretending to yawn and wiped them away, smiling. Mulan would never tell her any of this without a lot of prodding... or maybe she would. There were so many things she didn't know about this mysterious woman and now that she did, Aurora wasn't sure if she knew who Mulan was anymore. What she saw and who she thought she knew didn't even look like the same person. She couldn't picture the strong, brave warrior a bride to any man, made up and demure. She couldn't see the warrior shedding a tear at anything. Nor could she even begin to fathom the fear Mulan must've felt when she saw firsthand just how gruesome war was. Ogres were nothing in comparison.

Mulan didn't cry, conform, or fear, and yet, this was all the things Ah Mei was implying she had. The princess never forgot the fact that Mulan is human, but she always thought of her as more human than others, just in the wrong way. She thought Mulan's default reaction was one of a silent strategist, stoic, if something wasn't going as planned she would find a way around it while still letting nature take its course. But never did it cross her mind Mulan's first reaction was to fear and let her emotions dictate actions.

While the princess sat on a patch of grass and lingered in the silence, Ah Mei crawled over to her and cupped her hands to Aurora's ear. "I'm going to teach you a phrase in Mandarin you can say to Mulan-jehjeh but you can't tell her I taught you. Promise?"

"Why can I not tell her?" Aurora knit her brows together, "Is it vulgar?"

Ah Mei shook her head. "Jeh-jeh loves you, Princess. She loves you very much, like that of sworn sisters. But she gets unhappy when we ask if you know, so it's clear to everyone you don't. Mulan-jehjeh is suffering, Princess Aurora. She hurts deeply for you, and everyone can see that except for her because she doesn't want to," the child lowered her head and clasped her hands imploringly, "Please heal her, Princess. Even if you do not return her love, please let her smile. Mulan-jehjeh is always looking out for others and I'm scared she purposefully forgets herself. I'm really worried. Doesn't she deserve happiness too?"

Of course she does. She deserves all the happy endings in the world for just being alive...

"Yes, dear. Mulan deserves much more happiness than she'll ever allow herself... and she needs to know that." Aurora cupped the young girl's face in her hands and gave her a playful grin to lighten the mood, "What is it you want me to say to her, my young teacher? I eagerly wait for your kind words."

What Ah Mei taught her was longer than what she had imagined the saying to be, and in fact wasn't even the phrase she had in mind. But seeing how the situation at hand was to play out, it was probably for the best.

"Aurora?" they heard their warrior call in the distance, signalling the end of their secret lesson.

Ah Mei stood up when Mulan came into view and cheerfully greeted her in Chinese with a few words the royal had a vague idea what of. The little girl saluted Mulan, then turned to bow to Aurora before laughing at the gestures and leaving the two woman to their own devices. Aurora felt the child take her confidence with her, for as Mulan neared, her mind couldn't prepare any sentences that didn't sound offensive or stupid.

"Mui here tells me you know your numbers," said Mulan, clearly eager to ask, "May I see?"

"I-I only know just the first ten..." Aurora responded, surprised to hear herself whispering, "Don't laugh at me, we hardly reviewed them."

Mulan chuckled and rubbed Aurora's arm, whispering back, "Don't worry, I won't." She picked up the stick Ah Mei had abandoned long ago and pointed to the number six. "Now, what's that?" she questioned, her tone hardening and expectant.

Halfway through her quiz Aurora tossed the stick away and recited the number rhyme in record speed once more before asking to be taught the rest of the numbers up to the age of whichever one of them was older. Mulan, shock evident on her face, mutely nodded and clumsily made her way through the rest of the numbers to appease Aurora's request. Her little fumbles and grumbling about didn't go unnoticed by her beautiful pupil; each interruption of annoyed "aiya"s muttered under her breath and "tch!" for when the former phrase didn't cut it, Aurora soon found herself giggling uncontrollably from the sheer cuteness she never thought she would see Mulan pull off.

Little did she remember her former sworn protector and current teacher, sneaking in smiles when she wasn't aware, was always three steps ahead of her and made sure to mess up even more until the princess, in tears from laughter, begged her to stop.

_All of your sorrow, grief and pain, locked away in the forest of the night_  
_Your secret heart belongs to the world_

"Wo jue de ni hen ke ai."

The phrase rolled off her tongue naturally as she hoped it would. No more practicing in the mirror hour after hour just to quiz herself. The tone was perfect, she knew it to be. She tore her blue eyes from looking at the moon, expecting Mulan's face to be one of mild shock or even happiness if she was lucky, but she did not seem pleased to hear it.

In fact, did she even hear her at all?

The former soldier kept her own eyes fixated on the night sky. She did nothing to convince Aurora she was even all there at the moment. Aurora watched as Mulan's long black hair, taken down for the night, flowed freely in the direction of the night breezes while the warrior's body remained still. She wasn't even shivering in the nightgown Aurora had chosen for her, the only thing she was wearing sans her undergarments, while the princess herself had at least the sense to put on a cloak.

Discouraged from the lack of response, Aurora sighed and looked away from her companion. With every unanswered question she felt their relationship had just taken two steps back. Why did she listen to Ah Mei anyway? For all she knew, the young child wanted to toy with their relationship because she knew she could influence her. Her heart was in the right place, for absolute certainty, but maybe her methods of getting there could use some work.

But no, let's stop putting blame on others, least of all an innocent child. It was up to Aurora to time it so the conversation went smoothly. It was Aurora's duty as Mulan's best friend to know what was going on with her. It was Aurora's fault. _Aurora's fault. She_ was the one responsible for executing the plot, and if what _she_ just did ruined any chance of her and Mulan's friendship – or sworn sister-ship or courtship or whatever their relationship now was – improving then she should suffer the consequences before Mulan pushed her out of the way in attempt to protect her from herself.

"Wo bu shi ke ai."

The princess's ears perked up when the gentle breeze carried the small voice to her. Patient eyes were waiting for her when she deemed it safe to look at Mulan again. The warrior moved closer to her and continued, her voice just a little louder than before.

"I'm glad you don't know how to argue in my language, or else I would be in trouble," she joked, accompanying it with a light chuckle. Aurora frowned.

Mulan just wrote off what she had practiced so hard to perfect. Granted, it _was_ in her tongue but languages are difficult to learn! And with so much meaning to it, especially to describe Mulan in such a way, how could she? How _dare_ she? Who was pining for whose affections here?

Aurora huffed and averted the woman's gaze to stare at the tops of the trees in the forest beyond, leaning on the sturdy rail of the balcony to support herself. "I learned it when I went walking around the village that day with your mother when you went to visit your aunts. These ladies made a big deal of teaching me meaningful phrases and I wanted a word to describe you without sounding too cliche. You don't seem to agree with my choice, but it's my opinion and I am entitled to that if nothing else."

Mulan sighed and rested a hand on Aurora's shoulder. "You're lying. Ah Mei taught you, didn't she? When she was teaching you how to count. Do not take me for a fool, Princess. I know."

Aurora winced.

"She's been trying to play matchmaker ever since I returned home and relayed the general events of our travels together. I have told her time and time again you are more than happy with Phillip but it does not seem to sink in," she paused, rubbed Aurora's shoulder, and said solemnly, "I apologize on her behalf, for any ideas she might've put into your mind, Aurora. I assure you, I have no intentions of coming between you and Phillip."

This again. Just for once...

It was all very fine and noble, and completely in character for Mulan, but this was just too much. Hadn't she a selfish bone in her body? Didn't the saying 'too much of a good thing' apply to her at all? Ah Mei's voice echoed in her mind, her innocent child-like voice pleading for Aurora to nurse Mulan's wounds. _Doesn't she deserve happiness too_?

"That young girl is right, you know..." Aurora muttered, "She's worried for you, and I should have been more considerate of your feelings, my friend."

They exchanged glances before Aurora enveloped Mulan in a fierce embrace. It was only after she rested her head on Mulan's shoulder did she feel the bare hands of her warrior snake around her waist and return the hug, the tension in her muscles disappearing as she succumbed to the warmth they created together. Mulan flinched when the princess touched her hair and lovingly ran her fingers through it while combing out any tangles she happened upon as gently she could. Aurora fought the urge to smile when Mulan made a soft noise before tightening her hold.

Her stay in Mulan's village wasn't just because she was asked. The country air helped clear her mind, and between being out in the open fields and having their bodies pressed so tightly together in Mulan's bed (which, as far as her host was concerned, was completely involuntary) Aurora knew Ah Mei was on to something.

She studied Mulan in the wilderness where beasts and bandits were aplenty. She studied Mulan with her brief interactions with Phillip. But this tiny backwoods village was what Mulan called home, and home was a wonderful place where she didn't need to fear or feel out of her element. She's already made her mark and no one doubted her. Here, Aurora got to see Mulan for the first time, both figuratively and literally, without armor, and she made sure to take all the notes she could.

Mulan was free. She smiled, laughed, played... She even sang! On her first night in particular, Aurora remembered drifting off right outside the door to Zhou's study to what seemed to be a remotely sad song that sounded off-key at times (though that could've just been in the song's nature) but nonetheless beautiful.

When the two of them returned to her kingdom less than a day ago, Aurora pushed these thoughts of her best friend aside and focused all her energy on pampering her as much as her former protector allowed. Whatever Mulan desired – which was almost nothing of material value, dull surprise there – the princess made sure was available. They went horseback riding, played hide-and-seek in the forest, attempted to hold a self-taught self-defense class which quickly dissolved into a tickle fight and then Phillip invited Mulan to go drink with him and his friends. The princess couldn't help but feel overjoyed (a little guilty but mostly not) when Mulan came home alone earlier than expected, completely sober, because she didn't feel comfortable leaving Aurora alone in their larger-than-life palace while she went out and could have potentially wrecked havoc with their prince. Forget the guards on duty, they certainly didn't hold a candle to Mulan.

Her warrior pulling back snapped Aurora out of her thoughts; she was about to protest until she saw the tear roll down Mulan's cheek. Terrified she had done something to upset her, the princess quickly wiped it away and – out of habit more than anything – kissed her where the tear had been. Mulan's eyes only widened at the gesture, her face unfortunately unreadable. She turned and made her way back into her room and look a seat on her bed. She looked to be experiencing what Aurora could only describe as a calm panic.

Having little else to do, and feeling rather cold anyway after that long, warm embrace, the princess quickly followed suit. "What's the matter?" she asked, getting down on her knees in front of Mulan, between her legs, "I'm sorry for upsetting–"

"You didn't, don't worry," Mulan shook her head, panting slightly, "I'm fine, Aurora, I assure you."

Aurora cocked her head, "Then why did you just run away from me?" She took one of Mulan's hands in her own and watched as the other woman swallowed when she laced them together. "Mulan, if I did something offend or hurt you, _let me know_!" she cried desperately, all but giving the hand she held a hard squeeze to convey her message proper. It didn't surprise her much when Mulan squeezed back, but it _did_ surprise greatly when she realized the shield Mulan had been using prior had been stripped away some time long ago. Using her free hand, Aurora very carefully reached up to touch the warrior's dampened cheek and caressed it with her thumb.

"Gongzhu," Mulan began, fixated on Aurora's entire person except for her eyes, voice steady, "Wo ai ni, fei chang ai ni. Ni hen piow-leng, hen ke ai, hen cho-ming. Ni rang wo hen kwai le, ke shi ni bu zhidao, bu mingbai..." _I love you, I love you so much. You're so beautiful, so lovely, so smart. You make me very happy, but you don't know, you don't understand_... she paused for a moment, and finished her speech by looking Aurora dead in the eye and, her voice breaking, ended with, "Wo bu-nung yongyou ni." _I can't have you_.

Aurora blinked and shook her head gently. "I-I don't understand a lot of what you just said, but... you– you're crying because you love me?" Her confusion only grew when Mulan gave a faint nod and looked away.

So, it seems Ah Mei was correct.

Well.

This certainly wouldn't do.

Her knees were way past the point of pain and too near the point of sleep which meant it was time for a new position. Straightening herself, the princess removed her cloak, took a seat next to Mulan on her bed and dabbed at her best friend's eyes with the fabric at hand.

"Just listen to me, all right? Don't speak..." Aurora murmured close to her ear as she covered Mulan using the majority of her cloak as a makeshift blanket, "If I am all you truly desire, just know your feelings aren't entirely unrequited. But if that is so, then we must take our love slowly. I just need a little time, Mulan, that is all I ask from y– shh..."

Mulan had opened her mouth to comment but closed it when Aurora put a finger to her lips. She allowed the princess to coax her into resting her head on her shoulder while Aurora herself wrapped a protective arm around her and continued to speak:

"Don't worry about Phillip, I shall deal with him. No one will mention your name in this to him if you don't want them to. He knows the kind of woman you are, Mulan – a brave, beautiful, selfless woman – and one who would never try to take me away from him on purpose. If it happens, it's only natural.

"But we can't just spring this on him so abruptly as though he was one of your chickens – give it time, my faithful warrior, that is all I ask of you. Please. No more sacrifices on your end, no more suffering in silence. And no complaints of my decision, starting now. All right?"

Mulan nodded against her shoulder and cleared her throat.

"Gongzhu," she whispered, "Xie xie ni..."

Aurora smiled and nuzzled her forehead with the tip of her nose, "Bu ke qi. Thank you for giving me a chance."

_Of the things that sigh in the dark_  
_Of the things that cry in the dark_

* * *

**A/N**: I just want to point this out before I get anyone telling me I spelt many things wrong – I KNOW. It was done on purpose. When you first hear someone speaking in a language you are unfamiliar with, it is easier to write it the way it sounds to you regardless of whether or not it's correct. I don't understand why "jiao" is romanized as such when it seems like the 'i' is completely unneeded, or why 'xiao' is written very much the same way but pronounced 'shao', or 'qing' as 'ching' but personally, I think it'd certainly be annoying to have to keep interrupting my reading to go "How the fuck do you say that?" every time I come across something written correctly but sounds completely different. Being a native Cantonese speaker myself and a fairly fluent one, I can safely say I know what I'm doing when it comes to Canto so much so that I don't even have to say the word aloud to know how it sounds (although Mandarin is a bit different).

I wrote the words like that to give the readers a feel for how to pronounce them and then swapped in the correct spelling when I felt you should get it by then. Since Aurora is just learning Chinese for the first time, I tried to write it the way she would think it was done so when she got the word right, the spelling would be corrected because she knows what it means.

Hope this make sense.


End file.
